Men’s golf places second at Atlantic 10 Match Play

The University of Richmond men’s golf team placed second out of eight teams at the Match Play after a heartbreaking loss to Ball State University in a tiebreaker on Feb. 10 and 11 at the Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club.

While Richmond struggled through snow and shutdowns caused by inclement weather, the Spiders persevered through 54 holes of golf in sunny Dade City, Fla.

Match play, as opposed to stroke play, is based on winning individual holes against an opponent rather than the final stroke count of the match.

“It’s a whole different mindset with match play,” senior Cole Ekert said. “Usually, you’re playing against the course, but today we were playing against our opponent.”

The Spiders breezed through the first two rounds with a clean 6-0 sweep over Central Michigan University and a 4-2 victory over Loyola College.

The Spiders swept the Chippewas across the board, with sophomore Quin Polin winning 7 and 6 and sophomore Jack LaPiana winning 6 and 5. Loyola posed closer scores, but UR prevailed and qualified for the finals.

The course presented its challenges for the Spiders. Head coach Adam Decker said there were “considerable amounts of elevation change for Florida.”

The event’s host, Ball State, proved to be a tough competitor for the Spiders. Most of the scores were within one or two shots of each other. The Spiders were locked in a 3-3 draw with the Cardinals.

Everything came down to senior Patrick Isztwan as he stood on the tee box of his last hole of the tournament. In order for UR to stand a chance to grab first, Isztwan needed to out-perform his Ball State Opponent. 

He prevailed when the other player hit into out of bounds from the tee. The close victories over Ball State brought the Spiders within the margin of a tiebreaker.

"I thought we had won walking off the green, but coach and [assistant coach Michael Childress] came down and told me we lost in a tiebreaker so I think they already knew,” Isztwan told Spider Athletics.

This tournament marks the start of the spring season, and the highest placement since the 23-24 season for the Spiders.

“Overall, I’m pretty happy with how we played as a team,” Ekert said after the tournament. “I’m very excited for the spring.”

Ekert and Polin had strong performances on the course, leading the boards in several categories. Polin topped the tournament for par 3s with a 2.5 average, immediately followed by Ekert, who tied for second with a 2.82 average. The Spiders completely dominated in birdies, with all six players taking the top spots. Polin and Ekert tied for first in birdies, tallying 16 each.

As a team, UR led in par 3s, par 4s, and par 5s. For par 4s, the team scored -12, a long stride ahead of the second-place team, Ball State, which scored +10.

As the Spiders made their way through the course in temperatures in the low 80s, the weather in Richmond worsened. With heavy snow falling, their flight was canceled. Given little choice, the coaches decided to rent a car and brave the 12-hour drive home.

“We might stop and spend the night,” Decker said.

The Spiders have a quick turnaround before their next match. Decker said the players will have just enough time to “wash clothes and catch up on homework.”

The men’s golf team will compete in the Loyola Intercollegiate Feb. 16-18 in Goodyear, Ariz., at the Palm Valley Golf Club.

Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu